Development and Validation of Faculty and Course Evaluations for Students for Nova Southeastern University Physical Therapy Program.

Musolino, Gina M.

The Physical Therapy Department of Nova Southeastern University (NSU PT) changed its curriculum to problem-based learning, and in conjunction with changes needed new evaluation forms for accreditation and program requirements. The purpose of this practicum study was the development and validation of faculty and course evaluation forms for students at NSU PT. The process began with a literature review and a review of the NSU PT mission, philosophy, and accreditation documents. An internal formative committee survey was conducted, and evaluation forms were developed and validated by the summative evaluation committee of four faculty members. Items with a mean Likert score of 3.5 and above were accepted, and items below this score were reconsidered, redesigned, or excluded. Editorial recommendations were incorporated to make a final product of 5 Likert-scale forms, with 7 to 14 items each, considering affective, behavioral, psychomotor, and cognitive areas with an open-ended comment section. These forms were developed: (1) student self-assessment for the course; (2) student self-assessment for the laboratory; (3) student performance assessment for the clinic; (4) faculty tutor assessment for the course; and (5) faculty tutor assessment for the laboratory work. Recommendations are to implement these forms, conduct a pilot test, and consider longitudinal studies to track curriculum progress and aid in faculty and student development. Five appendixes include NSU PT mission statements, a list of committee members, the formative committee questionnaire, the summative committee questionnaire, and the five forms of the evaluation product. (Contains 3 tables and 24 references.) (SLD)